A Revealing Piece of Ancient Human History, Discovered in a Tibetan Cave
The remarkable, fossilized jawbone has no chin, and the teeth within it are exceptionally large.
In 2008, scientists working in Denisova Cave—a cold site in Siberia’s Altai Mountains—uncovered a strange pinky bone, broader than a typical human’s. The DNA within that bone revealed that its owner belonged to an entirely new group of ancient hominins, distinct from Homo sapiens or Neanderthals. That group became known as the Denisovans.
Researchers have since decoded the Denisovan genome. But still, no one can say what they looked like. Every known Denisovan fossil would fit in your palm—that pinky, three teeth, and a remarkable bone sliver from a Denisovan-Neanderthal hybrid. And all of these remains came from the same cave.
